Introduction and seeking advice, got a free fantasy pacman.

[Pluke]

Oh wow, that's surprising. I was looking at mikes Caatinga's wishing I could afford to get one and figured I'd just settle for a Fantasy if I found one at the Expo.. I really hope I can pull this guy through, maybe with a good permanent home and the right care he'll start to rehabilitate. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for your help so far.

[GrifTheGreat]

Oh wow, that's surprising. I was looking at mikes Caatinga's wishing I could afford to get one and figured I'd just settle for a Fantasy if I found one at the Expo.. I really hope I can pull this guy through, maybe with a good permanent home and the right care he'll start to rehabilitate. I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for your help so far.

You're welcome.

[Pluke]

Just wanna give an update on these guys, my little baby ate about 10 small crickets last night.. I threw some in his cage and he gave me the Dramatic squirrel look and started chasing them down.. it was awesome. As for the Caatinga... he still won't eat, I put some crickets in the cage with him, he started to move a little bit and then stopped. He seems to have a real problem with his back legs, movement for him is an issue. I tried to feed him Hornworms with tongs after he started moving but he just refuses. He tends to close his eyes and keep them shut for a few minutes, now and then. Which I'm not sure is normal, seeing as my other one never closes his eyes unless eating. I'm not going to try and feed the Caatinga again until tonight around midnight, I'll throw some crickets without hind legs in there so it's easier for him if he wants food.

How long do you think I should wait before trying to give him hornworms with tongs again? I don't know when the last time he ate was, should I just leave him alone for a couple days throwing while giving crickets or should I continue to try and feed him at night with tongs? I won't go as far to force feed him yet seeing as he is kind of fat right now. I just want this guy to get comfortable/eat something..

Also how do you guys feel about driftwood in a pacman tank? I have plenty of nice pieces and was thinking of putting a piece in and growing some moss on it.. (not on ground level so there won't be a risk of moss ingestion)

[GrifTheGreat]

Just wanna give an update on these guys, my little baby ate about 10 small crickets last night.. I threw some in his cage and he gave me the Dramatic squirrel look and started chasing them down.. it was awesome. As for the Caatinga... he still won't eat, I put some crickets in the cage with him, he started to move a little bit and then stopped. He seems to have a real problem with his back legs, movement for him is an issue. I tried to feed him Hornworms with tongs after he started moving but he just refuses. He tends to close his eyes and keep them shut for a few minutes, now and then. Which I'm not sure is normal, seeing as my other one never closes his eyes unless eating. I'm not going to try and feed the Caatinga again until tonight around midnight, I'll throw some crickets without hind legs in there so it's easier for him if he wants food.

How long do you think I should wait before trying to give him hornworms with tongs again? I don't know when the last time he ate was, should I just leave him alone for a couple days throwing while giving crickets or should I continue to try and feed him at night with tongs? I won't go as far to force feed him yet seeing as he is kind of fat right now. I just want this guy to get comfortable/eat something..

Also how do you guys feel about driftwood in a pacman tank? I have plenty of nice pieces and was thinking of putting a piece in and growing some moss on it.. (not on ground level so there won't be a risk of moss ingestion)

If the Hornworms are small enough you could set it confront of him and see if he'll go for it. He probably has never been tong Fed so he has to learn eventually. Right now its just scaring him.

Driftwood is fine and the moss should be fine as long as there is no possible way for them to eat any.

You can just offer the crickets without their hind legs again for your Caatinga and leave him be. Make sure you dust the crickets with calcium powder every other feeding or every 2nd feeding.

[GrifTheGreat]

Sorry to disappoint you again, but your frog isn't a Caatinga. I'm not quite certain what species it is yet. I'm doing some investigating.

[GrifTheGreat]

Well Pluke I do believe you do have a Fantasy Frog, BUT not a normal one. It would appear that someone may have bred a Green Caatinga with a C. Cornuta. This is an usual cross and I've never seen this before, but judging from color and appearance plus the bone structure issues it has is due to hybridization. These skeletal issues and leg problems are not uncommon with hybrids. It actually happens a lot.

[Pluke]

Hmm, thanks for having such interest in him Grif. I kept going back and looking at pics of the Caatinga's in mikes thread and I was seeing resemblance, but it wasn't exact. What the guy at the expo said about hybrids having deformations and your observation.. makes complete sense. Since this guy has these types of problems I'm not exactly sure what I can do other than make him comfortable. That's what I'm trying to do. Right now I have about an inch of coco-fiber in his tank and 2 inches in a corner, where I thought he'd bury himself.. but he seems to prefer the 1 inch stuff.. I went to Michael's arts and craft's store and got a great deal on some big leaved vine type plants and some suction cups.. going to line three sides of the tank with that for him to give him a lot of cover without plants all over the ground.

You think that once he's settled in a bit and ate something, giving him a little swim might help with his legs? Perhaps in a week or so? It just seems that if he'd be able to stretch/relax a bit it might help... he seems to have trouble moving in the substrate. Anyways, thanks again Grif so glad to have help like this, raising animals back in the 90's was a whole different story as far as getting advice goes.